Tamil Nadu Weather: Schools Shut in Chennai, Tiruvallur As Cyclone Montha Brings Overnight Rains

Heavy rains lashed Chennai and its neighbouring districts late Monday night, leaving several areas waterlogged and prompting officials to declare a school holiday on Tuesday in Chennai and Tiruvallur districts. The downpour, influenced by Cyclone Montha, intensified overnight as the system moved closer to the Andhra Pradesh coast.

Most weather stations in and around Chennai recorded between 20 mm and 30 mm of rainfall by late night, with totals expected to touch 50-70 mm by Tuesday morning, weather blogger RJ Pradeep John noted. Northern parts of the city, including Gummidipoondi, Ponneri, and Pulicat in Tiruvallur district, witnessed particularly heavy showers.

The Tiruvallur district has been placed under orange alert, while Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Ranipet, Theni, Tenkasi, and Kanyakumari are also expected to receive heavy rainfall at isolated places today. The ghat areas of Tirunelveli may see very heavy downpours as the cyclone nears landfall.

District Collector Rashmi Siddharth Zagade announced that all schools in Chennai and Tiruvallur will remain closed on Tuesday due to the prevailing weather conditions.

Cyclone Montha Moves Toward Andhra Coast

Cyclone Montha currently lies over the west-central Bay of Bengal, about 325 km east-southeast of Kavali. Moving at a speed of around 15 kmph, it is expected to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by Tuesday morning. The system is projected to make landfall between Machilipatnam and Kakinada on Tuesday evening or night, with wind speeds of 90-100 kmph, gusting up to 110 kmph.

As Montha edges closer, coastal Andhra Pradesh-especially between Kavali and Machilipatnam-is likely to experience widespread very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall. North coastal Tamil Nadu may receive light to moderate showers through the morning, while the rest of the state will see cloudy but largely dry weather.

Meanwhile, a depression over the east-central Arabian Sea remains nearly stationary, positioned around 650 km west-southwest of Mumbai, and is expected to drift north-northeastwards over the next two days.

IMD Chief on Impact Regions

In an interview with NDTV, Dr. M. Mohapatra, Director General of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said,

"Andhra Pradesh will be the most affected, followed by Odisha and then Chhattisgarh. Heavy rainfall will continue in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Tamil Nadu between October 28 and 30."

He added that after hitting the Andhra coast, Cyclone Montha will weaken gradually and move towards Odisha, bringing moderate to heavy rains along its path.